Production Planning & Inventory Control Manager

PCB Piezotronics, Inc. is a global leader in the manufacture of piezoelectric and strain gauge sensors. The Company’s pleasant working conditions, world-class benefits package, and investment into employee career development and advancement create a spirit of enthusiasm that provides PCB with a competitive edge.  We are currently growing and are in need of a Production Planning & Inventory Control Manager in our corporate office located in Depew, NY.

This position will be responsible for the efficient and effective operation of planning and inventory control functions.  Ensure achievement of goals related to available to promise (ATP), on-time delivery (OTD) and inventory investment. Work with S&OP processes, purchasing and production to derive achievable supply and production plans. Drive fully compliant use of Syteline APS and SyteLean modules in collaboration with engineering, purchasing, production and finance through order modifier settings, data and transaction accuracy and date credibility.  Actively monitor demand and the availability and flow of materials through planning, inventory and production to identify and resolve supply and production bottlenecks. Develop, track, review and report on planning and inventory control related metrics which reflect performance at the individual, department, and company level. Engage the planning and inventory staff to leverage Lean/DMAIC/Six Sigma tools to identify root cause, develop and execute plans to achieve target goals through continuous improvement.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

    Promotes teamwork, cooperation and commitment to “Total Customer Satisfaction” among team members.

Planning:

·         Develop and manage the planning team to be focused on Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS), department Vision and corporate goals; displaying capability and urgency in addressing expedited requirements and reprioritization and demonstrating ownership and accountability at the individual staff member as well as team level.

·         Monitor production load/capacities and inventory levels (to include Raw Materials, Components, WIP, Sub-Assemblies, Finished Goods) to ensure material availability and timely release to production in order to achieve OTD objectives (customer, x-plant, distribution).

·         Collaboratively establish quarterly and refresh monthly, an achievable 13 week rolling production plan based upon revenue goals, demand and capacity analysis and new product development initiatives in conjunction with staff and x-functional colleagues.

·         Work closely and proactively with purchasing to establish and maintain inventory levels that support the factory build schedule.

·         Work with counterparts in NC and other PCB Group sites to establish and maintain effective transfer order demand and supply signal creation, monitoring and fulfillment policy and procedures. 

·         Monitor creation and distribution of execution level production schedules; conferring daily with operations leadership and production supervisors via planners to determine progress of work and completion dates; and resolving issues on work in progress, inventory levels, and production problems with major emphasis on planning and inventory control excellence in material availability and production delivery reliability. 

·         Coordinate directly with product managers, customer service and operations management in order to evaluate and process expedite requests as per procedure and/or planner request.

·         Resolve competing requirements for common materials within planning, conflicting demand priorities within product management/customer service and production leadership.  

·         Develop and maintain countermeasures to address root causes of customer service related issues. Engage product management / sales / customer service if there is a supply chain breakdown or production issue that precludes meeting the customer requirement.

Inventory:

·         Manage the inventory control function to ensure policy compliance and that the objectives of accuracy (count, serial, lot, etc), product protection, timely and correct flow of paperwork and materials, and employee productivity are achieved.

·         Execute and improve inventory investment processes related to:

§  Strategic finished goods stocking levels

§  KanBan item resizing

§  Excess and Obsolete

§  ABC analysis and Cycle Count program

§  Safety Stock

General:

·         Maintain matrices that define key control fields and work x-functionally to maintain the accuracy of same.

·         Establish and institutionalize standard work for planning and inventory control.  Identify, define and engage staff and x-functional resources in lean projects to identify ways to eliminate waste and drive sustained performance.

·         Develop, maintain, and report metrics that measure and drive individual and department productivity and improvement. Increase the productive capacity of the working groups by initiating new ideas, processes and technologies.

·         Responsible for staff management and development including assigning and directing work, appraising performance, hiring, training and retention, disciplining, addressing complaints and resolving problems.

·         Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements:

Bachelors degree required, advanced degree preferred. Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Accounting preferred. APICS Certified, Lean Certification desirable and evidence of on-going professional development.  Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS), ITAR / DFAR; serialization and lot tracking requirements knowledge.  7+ years of demonstrated success managing 10+ staff members in production planning and inventory in an environment  characterized by: highly engineered products with multi-level BOM’s; low volume, high mix, high labor content; vertical integration/internal supply sources; cross-site independent and dependent supply requirements. Management of inventory investment to corporate goals and policy.  Planning methodologies: APS (primary); consumption based replenishment, MPS.  Proven track record of change management, excellence in developing people and facilitating cross-functional teams. Expertise in utilization of ERP functionality to establish accurate and timely demand/supply signals; advanced data mining/Business Objects Report development/Excel skills.  Establishing leading indicators and KPI’s to drive continuous improvement.